1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a vehicle brake control system and method capable of assisting a driver with respect to avoiding an obstacle. More specifically, the present invention relates to a vehicle brake control system and method that aids in determining if a preceding detected obstacle can be avoided by steering way from the preceding object and lowering the braking force acting on the vehicle.
2. Background Information
Vehicle brake control systems have been proposed to determine the possibility of avoiding an obstacle existing in front of a host vehicle in which the system is employed and to control a host vehicle braking system applied to the host vehicle so as to avoid a collision. One example of such a vehicle brake control system is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-155241. In this publication, it is also proposed that when the driver is operating the steering wheel, a generated braking force is reduced compared to the braking force that would be generated if the driver were not operating the steering wheel.